2 Listen to the story, read it and match the paragraphs with the titles.

a) Harry's unhappy childhoodb) Hogwarts School, its rules and traditionsc) Harry Potter becomes a herod) Harry's first year at Hogwartse) Harry Potter is the most famous wizard in the worldf) Muggles and wizards

Misha: I've heard a lot about Harry Potter, but I haven't read the books or seen the films. Could you tell me what the film is about?Mark: There are actually five films. They're based on J. K. Rowling's books "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix." You'd be able to understand any of them if you know the plot of the first one. So let me start with that.

1. Harry Potter is an orphan. His parents, Lily and James Potter, were killed when he was a year old. Their killer was the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. Voldemort tried to kill Harry as well, but something happened and Voldemort's attack didn't kill him. Instead, Lord Voldemort was hurt himself. Harry got a scar on his forehead and Voldemort disappeared. At that time Voldemort was the most powerful wizard, and everybody was afraid of him. Other wizards didn't want to say his name and called him "You-Know-Who". When he disappeared, the whole wizard world celebrated, and Harry became a hero.

2. But Harry had to have a normal childhood, so he went to live with the family of his mother's sister: the Dursleys. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hated the wizards and were terribly afraid of them. They made Harry's life very unhappy. He lived in a small cupboard, didn't get enough food and never heard a kind word from his relatives. His cousin Dudley bullied Harry and beat him up. But worst of all, Harry didn't know anything about his parents. Aunt Petunia told him only that his parents had been killed in a car accident.

That all changed when a letter arrived one day inviting Harry to study at Hogwarts School of Wizardry. On his eleventh birthday Harry got the most wonderful present: he found out that he was a wizard and was really famous. The whole wizard world knew that Harry had made the evil Lord Voldemort go away.

3. Harry had to learn a lot about being a wizard. Wizards live near ordinary people, but they protect themselves and their world carefully. An ordinary person is called a muggle (anybody who can't do magic). Magic can't be done in front of muggles, and most of the wizards live inside magical areas that are invisible to muggles.They have their own shopping street called Diagon Alley, where wizards buy their broomsticks, cauldrons, wands and books of spells. They have their cafes and pubs, where they eat magic food and drink magic alcohol.They have their own banks, where goblins look after their magic money: knuts made of copper, sickles made of silver and galleons made of gold.

4. Harry goes to Hogwarts School. Hogwarts is a boarding school and Harry spends the whole year there. With its high towers, secret chambers, talking portraits and moving stairs, it is a very special place . No muggle can see it and muggle technology doesn't even work there. Hogwarts teachers are very good wizards and the most powerful of them is the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He is the only wizard who wasn't afraid of Lord Voldemort. In fact, Lord Voldemort studied at Hogwarts himself and was Dumbledore's student. When children come to the school, a magic hat, which can see into the heart of every child, sends them to different school houses. There are four houses in the school. Children who have a brave, true heart go to Gryffindor. Those who are kind and hard-working go to Hufflepuff. Anyone whois intelligent and loves to learn goes to Ravenclaw, and someone who is cunning and always gets what he wants goes to Slytherin. A lot of dark wizards came from Slytherin.

All the people from one house live and study together. Each house has its own head (the main teacher), sports team and leaders. People from one house aren't always good friends with people from other houses. The houses compete with each other and at the end of the year the best house wins the school cup. If somebody is late or is rude to a teacher, they lose points for their house. There are the usual school punishments too: sometimes students get detention or have to do lines.

5. During his first year at school Harry studies magic subjects and makes friends and enemies. His best friends are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Harry is happy with his new life: every day he finds that he has more and more talents. He is clever, a very good student and also good at sport. He plays Quidditch, the magic wizard sport that is played in the air on broomsticks. With Harry's help, his house wins some very important games. But Harry's adventures aren't over: the evil "You Know Who" isn't dead. He is trying to come back to the world, and he isn't alone. Somebody at Hogwarts is helping him. A very important magic object, the Philosopher's Stone, is hidden at Hogwarts. With the help of this stone anybody can produce the Elixir of Life which makes the drinker immortal. If Voldemort gets the Philosopher's Stone, he will come back forever. Voldemort's secret friend is trying to get to the stone.Harry and his friends think that they know the name of their enemy.

6. The first film was a successful debut of young British actors: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. However, all the actors and actresses who played the roles of the adults are well-known stars.

4 Read part 2 for detail and say what Harry's childhood was like. Talk about all the problems he had.

5 Read part 3. Fill in the gaps and complete the sentences.

1. There are wizards and there are...2. ...carefully protect their world from muggles.3. The wizards' main shopping street is called...4. There they can buy...5. The wizards keep their money in...6. The magic money is called...7. The most valuable money is... because it's made of...8. The wizards' school is called...9. The headmaster's name is...10. ...used to study at Hogwarts too.

6 Read part 4 and match the names of the school houses with their symbols. Explain your opinion.

1. Who were Harry's best friends?2. How is Quidditch played?3. Why is the book called "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"?4. How could the "philosopher's stone" be used?5. Why did Voldemort need the stone?

Homework

A Get ready for a film project: write a review of your favourite film. Illustrate it with pictures and photos.